Robert F. "Bob" Orr (born October 11, 1946) is an American attorney, jurist, and politician who served as an associate justice of the

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

from 1995 to 2004. Orr was a Republican candidate for

governor of North Carolina The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Seventy-five people have held the office since the first state governor, Richard Caswell, took office in 1777. The governor serves a ...

in 2008 North Carolina gubernatorial election.

Early life and education

Orr was born in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

and spent his childhood in

Hendersonville, North Carolina Hendersonville is a city in and the county seat of Henderson County, North Carolina, United States, located south of Asheville, North Carolina, Asheville. Like the county, the city is named for 19th-century North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Jus ...

. After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

, Orr served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from 1968 to 1971. Orr returned to Chapel Hill to earn his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

University of North Carolina School of Law The University of North Carolina School of Law (branded as Carolina Law) is the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, it is one of the oldest law schools in the United States and is the oldest law sch ...

Career

After graduating from law school, Orr entered private law practice in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

. In 1986, Orr was appointed to the

North Carolina Court of Appeals The North Carolina Court of Appeals (in case citation, N.C. Ct. App.) is the only intermediate appellate court in the state of North Carolina. It is composed of fifteen members who sit in rotating panels of three. The Court of Appeals was create ...

, and in 1994 was elected to the state's highest court. From 1992 to 1993, Orr served on the United States

National Park System The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all national parks; most national monuments; and other natural, historical, and recreational ...

Advisory Board. Orr formerly served as an adjunct faculty member at

North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliati ...

and at UNC School of Law. On July 31, 2004, Orr retired from the state Supreme Court during the summer to head the newly formed North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law. In December 2006, ''

The News & Observer ''The News & Observer'' is an American regional daily newspaper that serves the greater Triangle area based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The paper is the largest in circulation in the state (second is the '' Charlotte Observer''). The paper has be ...

'' reported that Orr was exploring a run for

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. He made his candidacy official in late January 2007. He lost to

Pat McCrory Patrick Lloyd McCrory (born October 17, 1956) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 74th governor of North Carolina from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 53rd mayor of Charlotte ...

in the May 2008 primary. Orr then returned to the NC Institute for Constitutional Law. He stepped down from leading the institute in 2011 and joined the Poyner Spruill law firm. Gov. McCrory appointed him to serve as district attorney for the 24th district in 2014, filling a vacancy through the 2014 general election. He subsequently returned to the private practice of law. Orr was a delegate to the

2016 Republican National Convention The 2016 Republican National Convention, in which delegates of the United States Republican Party (United States), Republican Party chose the party's nominees for President of the United States, president and Vice President of the United Sta ...

. A supporter of

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and a Republican candidate for the pre ...

, Orr said he would not vote for his party's nominee,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

, in the general election, telling a reporter that Trump would be "a danger to the country." Uproar over Orr's comments resulted in his credentials as a delegate being withheld which led him to leave the convention early. Orr officially left the Republican Party in February 2021, changing his registration to unaffiliated.

References

External links

North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orr, Robert F. 1946 births Living people Justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court North Carolina Central University faculty North Carolina Court of Appeals judges North Carolina Republicans Politicians from Norfolk, Virginia University of North Carolina School of Law alumni